Tom Kitt (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy will be aware that our function involves co-ordination and policy formation. I have not made a specific announcement regarding what will follow the information society commission. It would be prudent to await that body's final report before doing so.

To expand on what I said on the previous occasions on which we dealt with this matter, the broad thrust of our thinking is that we need to recognise human creativity as an ultimate economic resource. The value of ICT cannot be unlocked by bolting it on to what one is already doing. We must build new skills and be prepared to change the way we operate. That is the key objective as far as I am concerned. The successful formula will tend to be one part technology and nine parts innovation.

I have told the Deputy we should wait for this third progress report on new connections and the final report on the information society before we outline the way forward. It is important to bear in mind that the current national wage agreement, Sustaining Progress, refers to pursuing a knowledge society foresight approach. The key, so far as I am concerned, is innovation, concentration on the knowledge economy and the digital divide as well as on the whole idea of inclusivity. We must deal with the whole situation as far as the disabled and the elderly are concerned, and there are regional imbalances also, as the Deputy is aware, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office. That is the broad thrust of our policy. I am not in a position to give a final answer today as regards whether there will be another information society commission. As the Deputy knows, the final report will come out this month so we will shortly have that information.

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